, 1887-05-26
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS.
JOAQUIN MILLER TELLS ABOUT 4
FEW OF Them.
Th.- Golden state seems to he ven Sup
piled with FIRST Glass Institutions Of
the Higher Educati"n-How It's SON,
and Daughters Obtain Culture


piled with first Cias, Institutions Of
the Higher Educati"n-How lis SON,
and Daughters Obtain CuIture.
Special Correspondence
SAN JOSE, March l.
! count it COOL sign that so many eastern
mothers hav" written HE to ask about the
sch""l faciIitiei of the Pacific coast: and am
NOW going to begin giving from time to time
sketches and histories of the great corner
stone: which have been laid ON these shores
i'll tine building of the state. | know these
are dry, serious themes, nothing at all like
the letters 1 might write on the wild excite
mrIIt> of early life out here, the gold mines
the great snow peaks, the wonderful scenery,
and - on; but the people of the older state
seem Ia demand a knowledge OF what We
have done and are doing out here in a solid
and enduring work, said before, am will
M To do my part in writing down some ac-
count of the schools Of California.
In the first place, then, We have the great
University of California, right at the doors of
the Golden Gate, the first presidency of which
WAS offered to the late Gen. Mcclellan, you
may remember. Then we have the Univer-
>.ty OF the Pacific, presided over by DR..
StrattOn. Then We have the Mills seminary
AMI college. Then We have, i'll the near pro-
~peciive. the Senator Stanford university. or
rather, l should Say, the university founded 10y
Senator Stanford, of California, with its mar
S,ouS endowment 10y that gentlemen and his
wife OF about S20,DO,HN!
But besides ali these we have "A solid bot
tom stratum of the most complete school sys-
tenn in all the world. We have more than
I0.mn S'h0nl children in attendance in San
Francisco, IN preparation largely for these
I. II.
blunt aud brief catalogue of facts l think it
n'1rtiea> to assure parents of the older states
hat they have nothing to fear, so far as
>honl facilities are concerned, i'll coming to
',iilornia with their children. But in order
rIt tlrv mGy know more precisely what is
being DONE what the advantages are, so far
,,Sciimate, Social surroundings sanitary bene-
fits, and 50 on. are concerned, shall now take
mp one of these higher places of education
and give some detail of its inner and outer
life The University of California. the Uni
versity of the Pacific and the Mills seminary
and college have all been i'll active operation
for years, are all entirely and nobIy equipped
Tor their worthy work, AMI | assert. are the
peers of the hest institutions in the world.
The first of these three i'll point of age, and, |
think, i'll attainment of honorable mention
ami splendid work, and therefore deserving
of our first attention, is the Mills seminary
and college This celebrated institution, like
the University of California, is not far from
the Golden Gate, and was founded by DIR.
Mills and his wife nearly quarter of n cen
Jury ago. The good that it has done during
the lapse of that time i'll turning out teachers
and i'll shaping the minds ot the Young
mothers of the far west is beyond cal u
Iation Dr. Mills had been educated
I,,- anil hal
president of the Seminary of India and
also of Oaku college at Honolulu. SO that
this old pioneer came to California not only
well trained for his work i'll his long mission
lry Journey around the world, but already
venerable man. He now rests GA one of
Inc fiowcry hillsides of his great seminary.
His life work, like that of Senator STANFORD.
lie made a present to the people | am
writing of the dead. But there was no halt
in the forward work when the great man fell
girt in battle harness. He and his wife, who
still survives linn to intuse her lofty spirit
and splendid energy into the progressive
work, had conveyed the property TO u board
of trustees, made up from the best men
of California;; and so 1t is as if the grand old
missionary Of India had merely grown a
bit tired and stepped aside to rest IA while.
The landscape of this California seminary
is perhaps the nearest approach to an earthly
paradise that can be found i'll all the circuit
of the world. And this is not because of the
superior air at all. | have lived at Oxford,
Cambridge, the University of Virginia, lee
tured mt most of the great seminarieS of
America, and so am not Mt all unfamiliar
with fine landscapes. But, you see, the climate
and the soil-above all the climate-nere are
such that any competition is entirely out OF
the question.
This Mills seminary lies in the lap of a
tawny crescent of grand old leOnine hills
five mills back from the sea bank. The lap
of mother earth seems to have been made
soft aEJ rounded all ready for this garden
of girls" Ii looks out over the great bay of
San Francisco, ON out through the Golden
Gate, on out over the ShoreleSs Pacific ocean,
OH past tlle Sandwich islands, and away on
toward India, where its great founder came
from when his work had been finished there.
The grounds here measure more than 100
acres, the buildings are ample and the
property is easily worth S50O,OOO. A gener-
oIis gift for an old missionary and his wife,
el..
Am 1 praiNinS their acts overmuch! Bear
in mind they planted here in this matchless
i,iG.,i~,-iI,e nearly one hundred Thousand trees
H,.:'e on this SPOT, where wild beasts prowled
twenty-siS Years ago, they have set up
forest Of never failing roses. IL you should
set cut TO walk through all the roads of this
wom,irouS Eden like landscape You would he
very weary i'll the legs, Wc3Ty with delight,
before Vou We're done with the miles and
miles of InatclIlesS he;tuty and ma%niiiceHce.
For here they have set up the flow -ry t"i' '->tS
of India, the fiowery forests of the luxurious
South Sea Islands. | know of no spot this
side OF the low lands of Mexico where this
bprl 4 fs4yy miles
distant from this s!-'t, in any direction you
may go, YOU are IiIhie to encounter one,
Two or three nights Of frost during the coolest
part of the winter; but here in this warm lap
of our great mother frost was never known
to fall. A mile or two nearer to the Gol'len
Gate and YOU may find chill wind blowing
in Your face in August but here no chill
wind was ever felt Surely it seems as if it
Ill r,,stesl in the hollow of Gods hand.
W. might linger all day in this tropical Yet
ever cool AMI sIlulrious landscape on FIR,
nnuniai-l side here with pleasure, and with
rrolit, too; hut-,""u !, has b-'a SAIL of it 10
simulate earnest inquiry i'll the minds of those
who may find it necessary to seek out EIii'ily
spot wherein to place young girls who are
not equal to harsh and vigorous landscape
;ilII climate.
The sanitary advantages alone, it seems TO
me, ought to make this seminary place of
singular favor Yet doubt if it has ever
Icen much Thought of in this connection.
Certainly the institution makes no claim TO
any special mention on this account. And
the hundreds of girls there, robust as the
young trees that surround Them give no III
di,ution that my "f them have iern gathered
from among l.. weak or unhealthy.
Indeed | think oar schools are all 30 formed
ont here 50 fIi' :I~ climate Is concerned that
il has not o,,,rre,i tn the trustees or directors
of any of Ill i'll Ia make amy claim "n puhiic
favor fnr a:..- nI'>Ii nf the SniI.i me Is
If Illsr Esp I..IF f'Ht Must r'psat
;haI h,. Lard s',b i -, seminary ;.iid
col.,--e aad u Silu.rIIv al Ibis little SI",t III
he IIi,-.; ei.ri!. = Ih ,!.:ti'i liie sweetest,
he I',r,I ;,,r,''lnt t. u :'iisS / nave ever ELI
;oyes, and 'ra>e tr.isei,d at far.
Biris! Tie place Is alive with meadow
ark Would you like u find their little
chicks" kindly asked the venerable Mrs.
Mills of uIe one day as | stood booking out OF
the wirtlow at the birds of many kinds and
| colors.